suzycooke

I stay within 900-1000 calories a day. I don't have a target for Fat but do count my fat grams each day to stay aware of it. I'm supposed to stay under 100 grams of carbs each day (and I'm usually way under that) and I eat at least 60 g of Protein. I'm a total freak about food journaling and that helps me a lot!

I'll be at the hospital in 12 hours! So ready for this....been feeling very much "at peace" today. Congratulations to the recently banded and best wishes to those of us having surgery tomorrow! (I think there was 10 of us at last count!) Have a great night, everyone! Suzy

KarynA: The NP at my surgeon's office wants us to keep a food diary as well as a thoughts/feelings journal and told us to make the first page of our journal a 'Before' picture. I think that's such a great idea! It's not easy to see but reminds me every day why I have undertaken this life-altering journey of changing my body as well as my soul! This Wednesday, we're heading home to Texas to spend five days with our families for Thanksgiving. I thought I'd be freaking out about not being able to eat all those yummy casseroles and Desserts, but I'm not at all! My doctor just requires the Atkins diet before surgery, so I'll be having a slice of turkey, some brussel sprouts, an artichoke, and a deviled egg. I'm also making a pumpkin whip dessert that's very low carb so I can have a taste of something sweet. In my mind, that's not food deprivation at all! I'll miss the dressing and the green bean casserole and the corn with cream cheese casserole, but I really think I've eaten enough of those things to last me the rest of my life! I'm attending my last support group tomorrow night before my surgery on the 3rd. From what I understand, they all pass around some sort of angel around the room and each person says a prayer or best wishes or sends good vibes and then they give me the angel to take to the hospital with me. How cool is that? At my last appointment with my surgeon, he told me that he is blessed to be very good at what he does and he knows everything will be great, but he still says a prayer for me before he starts and for him and his abilities. I reallly appreciated him saying that! I think it's interesting how my mind has evolved throughout this process. I went through a very emotional time shortly after I made this decision and was very weepy. There's definitely a mourning process to go through....mourning the loss of food as I know it, mourning the loss of food as a steadfast friend and ally when others have failed me, and wrapping my brain around the reality that I may, someday, have my health back and my confidence and self-assuredness. I have almost come full circle, though, in that I am completely accepting of this process now and embrace it. I'm not scared! I'm elated! I'm ready. Sorry for the rambling. I hope everyone has a great and healthy and fun Thanksgiving! Suzy

12/3/09 Lap Band gal here! Had my first appt with my surgeon today. Par for the course: I should have met with him a month or two ago but the front desk girls at my practice are (bless their hearts) soooooooooooooo inadequate. My surgery date has already been set for 12/3 so I should have met my surgeon before today but it's ok. My husband went with me today and we both had all our questions answered. I have another pre-op appt with him next Friday, as well as one more round of blood work and my pre-surgical appt at the hospital. It really is a weird feeling! I have dreamed/contemplated/ pondered/wondered about this surgery for so many years and now it looms less than 3 weeks away. I might have a tinge of anxiety regarding the surgery itself, but my decision regarding the lap band is firm; backed with my heart and soul's support. I'm so grateful for each of you......I need a team! Please let me know how you all are doing! Suzy

Garden-nut - Isn't there anyone else in your family who can cook for Thanksgiving? That seems like some pretty cruel and unusual punishment to have to cook Thanksgiving dinner when you're on Optifast!! You're a braver soul than I and I'll be sending good vibes your way that day! :thumbup:

December 3 for me, too!! The holidays will definitely be a trip! Pre-op diet for Thanksgiving and post-op diet for Christmas....WOW. We sure as heck won't be gaining weight this holiday season! So excited about this journey and sending good vibes and best wishes to all of the December Bandsters! :scared2: Suzy

Illumination...I feel your pain. I quit smoking a year and a half ago! It's hard but you can do it!! I'm sure it contributed to my weight gain this past year, so thank goodness you're about to be banded! I promise you'll feel like a new woman.

dmd and tbird: my surgery is set for Dec. 3 as well! I've gone through all the testing. I have the h. pylori bacteria in my tummy, but no ulcer from it (thank goodness). I'm on the antibiotics to clear that up now. My surgical consult is 11/13. I went to the first support group last night and it was really great! It was about 1/2 lap band and 1/2 bypass patients but it was great to hear from real people and very frank discussion. I was the only pre-op there and they are all super supportive and made sure to clue me in on things they were talking about. I'm a self-pay patient so I have moved through this process fairly quickly as I attended the seminar late September and had my first consult Oct. 5. I think I could have gotten my surgery scheduled sooner, but the nurse practitioner said that surgery schedules really fill up at the end of the year because a lot of people have met their deductible and are getting in to get things taken care of! Also, the front desk girls at my doc's office are fairly incompetent (but to their credit, they are probably understaffed and overworked.) I have been assured by other patients at this office that once I get far enough in the process that I don't have to deal with them so much, it becomes much smoother! I've been following the Atkins diet since early October and getting myself used to the Protein shakes. My doctor doesn't require any kind of pre-op liquid diet - just strict adherence to the Atkins Phase 1 the two weeks before surgery. I'M SO EXCITED!!!! I feel so positive about this and not one single twinge of self-doubt or regret about my decision. I very much feel that this is my time to shine and I'm ready to get this show on the road! I want to be able to live my life again! I want to get outside and enjoy the beautiful outdoors and live an active lifestyle! I'm so ready for the pain in all of my lower joints to be gone. My poor bones just moan and groan having to carry all of this weight on my small 5'3" frame! Looking forward to hearing all of our stories and supporting each other throughout the journey as I fully imagine it's not going to be easy...but sooooooooooooo worth it! Take care, Suzy

Sending prayers and good vibes your way! Let us know how you're doing!

Good Luck to you Monday Bandsters! We'll be thinking of you and please let us know how everything goes.

Congratulations! Hope everything goes well for you and that you have a smooth and easy recovery! Keep us posted. Suzy

Hope everything went well for you and that you're feeling ok!

Hi all! I had my first consult yesterday and got the ball rolling! I'm a self-pay patient (Thanks Blue Cross Blue Shield!) and was wondering if any other self-pay bandsters were able to get their insurance to pay for any of the pre-surgery tests. The nurse practitioner said to put the insurance card out for each appointment and at least see if BCBS will cover any of them. Thanks! Suzy

Thanks for all the great information! I appreciate it! Bariatric Treatment is excluded on my policy for BCBS, but hopefully I can sneak a few of these tests by them by doing what y'all have suggested. Thank you again! Suzy

Thank you! Good luck to you as well!

I have my first appointment this Monday, Oct. 5. (I attended the seminar a couple of weeks ago.) I'm blessed that my mom is paying for my surgery so hopefully I can move through the process fairly quickly. For that reason, I went ahead and started my low carb, high Protein diet today (I don't know exactly what diet my doctor will put me on but I do know it's an Atkins type). It was a tough day, but I got through it! The hardest time for me is right now....late at night after my husband is already asleep. It's my grazin' time! But I have made a promise to myself to do this right and I'm NOT going to cave. I also encountered my first bit of negative feedback today which surprised me so much! My husband and family are all so very supportive and there are a few friends that I've been gradually informing about my decision. I told one of them today and the first thing she said was "I know a couple of girls who had that done and they didn't lose ANY weight!" Thankfully, I've been a lurker on these boards for a while now and felt somewhat prepared to deal with this type of response. I didn't dignify it with an argument...only that I was going to do my very best to not let that happen to me. Looking forward to sharing my progress with all of you!

Thanks for the encouragement! I plan to utilize y'all a TON! :smile: Hope everyone has a great weekend.